The Bast of Times
by BlueEyedGryphon
Summary: Someone has stolen from the Magic Box.  There's plot. Some cats.  A little bit of fluffyness like stuff.  Mostly cute.  W/T.  My first attempt at fanfiction, reveiws would be appreciated.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimers: Most of the characters belong to the evil genius Joss Whedon. No copy-write infringement intended. There are scenes of two women in a loving relationship in this story. There is some violence in addition to allusions to child abuse. If any of this is likely to disturb you please do not read.

Spoilers: This story is supposed to take place during Season 4 between the episodes of "New Moon Rising", and "The Yoko Factor". It may make reference to any BtVS episode or storyline.

Rating: PG 13 (for now).

Willow sat at her desk trying to focus on a paper for Professor Smyth's class. She thought the topic was exciting, but her thoughts kept drifting to a certain blond. Willow was happy to hear that someone thought she was special, especially a witch who had been practicing as long as Tara. It was so strange how she said it. The blond stuttered a lot and seemed shy, but when she noted and affirmed that Willow was powerful she didn't stutter at all. She was very direct. Willow smiled, remembering the moment that Tara had spoken to her after that frightening period when nobody could speak at all. And she remembered the time before that when their hands first touched. There was a spark there, and it wasn't just the magic used to move the vending machine. No, there was definitely something else there. Willow didn't know what it was, but she knew she wanted more of it. Doing spells with Tara felt right but there was something missing. She wanted more Tara.

She recalled the previous night. Oz left again. It was the right decision for both of them. Willow knew that her choice would have eventually been Tara all along. She hated the idea of not being with Tara. Poor Tara, Willow thought, she never thought she would be chosen, and she was thrilled when she understood that she was. Willow remembered that sexy way that she blew out the "extra flamey" candle and the kiss that they shared the instant afterward. Who knew that being so close to the blond woman could feel so wonderful? Yes, Willow decided, there needs to be more kissing, and more snuggling. And definitely more Tara.

The phone rang interrupting Willow's thoughts just as they were getting more lustful. Hoping it was Tara she answered.

"Hello? Giles?" it wasn't often that he called.

"Yes, Willow, this is rather urgent. It looks like someone or something burglarized the Magic Box." He stated in a calm voice.

"What? Is everyone alright?" she asked, concerned for the welfare of her friends and the costumers.

"Yes. Quite. Anya was knocked unconscious but she's already back to her normal self and refusing to get treatment at a hospital," he explained. "She was the only one in the shop at the time".

Willow sighed with relief. "Good. Is there something I can do?"

"Actually, yes" Giles answered returning to the reason he called. "Many of the Bast related items in the store are missing, along with some basics needed for ritual. I need some research done on who or what would be interested in getting their hands on such items and for what purpose."

"Bast? The Egyptian cat goddess? Okay, I'll be over there in a few minutes." She stated, "And I'll, um, bring Tara. She may have some ideas and she is the more experienced witch". Willow now had a quirky grin on her face at the thought of Tara, which thankfully Giles could not see.

Giles agreed. Willow silently cheered, as she had an appropriate excuse to find Tara and... spend time with her doing boring research while not-so-secretly wishing they were kissing. Kind of a disappointment really, but time with Tara is precious none-the-less.

XXXXX

Tara sat in the chair in her dorm room, this time with a smile rather than the dread she felt at the idea of Willow leaving her. She also recalled the previous night. "She chose me!" She continued to consider incredulously. She thought about how wonderful it felt to be close to the slim, pretty, red head. To kiss her. It was better than she had imagined, and she had a lot of time to imagine. The spark of passion between them was so unlike anything she had ever felt before, for anybody.

There was a knock at the door. Sensing that it was Willow she opened the door and gave her a lopsided grin. "Hey".

"Hey," Willow smiled back. She wanted to kiss her, before telling herself there was a time and a place. "Um, I was hoping you could help with a little research".

Tara was a little disappointed that she did not get a kiss. "Oh, for school?" She asked quizzically, knowing the Willow doesn't usually ask for help with her studies.

"No, for Scooby stuff".

"Oh." The blond was intrigued.

"Come, I'll tell you about it on the way to the shop." Willow offered.

Tara agreed, not entirely certain she was doing so for the right reasons. She wanted to spend more time with Willow even if it meant flipping through books on spells and demonology rather than smooching. Well, maybe there can be some smooching later, she hoped.

XXXXX

The girl sat in the back of an alley way, her small dirty hands wrapped around the short statue of a black cat. She was ten years of age, but with her slim, malnourished body she looked as though she could be considerably younger. She looked at an old book in front of her. It was one of the few items she actually owned. It was an heirloom. She flipped the pages to a picture of the same cat. She compared the markings on the statue cat and the picture cat, including the "Eye of Horus" necklace, and the pierced ears. "What kind of cat pierces her ears?" the girl wondered to herself and shrugged. She heard some voices coming down the alley way. She picked up the book and the statue, along with a few more recently "borrowed" items and scurried to a common hiding place of hers; behind the dumpster.

XXXXX

When Willow and Tara arrived at the Magic Box, Anya was asked to recount what happened.

"Oh, it was terrifying!" she started, as Xander held some ice to the back of her head. "Ouch!" she scowled at her boyfriend. Xander tried to be more gentle. "A girl came in. She was pretty dirty."

"Ah, the frightfulness of uncleanliness" Xander teased.

"That's not the scary part" Anya stated, "She looked around the store for a bit. She picked up a few things including a couple of Bast statues, a pendant of the Eye of Horus, a mortar and pestle..."

"Yes, it's good that you keep track of the inventory." Giles interrupted with impatience. "Please continue with the burglary".

"Fine". Anya responded shortly. "She came to the counter and told me she had no money and couldn't pay for the items. She even asked if she could borrow them". Anya sounded disgusted at the thought. "I told her no. So then she offered to work for the money, but I told her she was too young, which she was. The girl protested stating that she had been practicing magic tricks and that she was willing to show me. I wasn't very interested, but there was no one else in the shop, so I figured it would be better than just standing around bored. Next thing I know she..." Anya cringed, just thinking of the incident.

Xander patted her back. "It's okay love, just tell us what happened".

Anya grasped his hand and gripped it hard "She...she pulled out...a bunny rabbit!"

Everyone groaned.

"And then I think I fainted and hit my head." she continued. "I don't remember anything else... That evil witch child must have taken the goods and ran!".

"Hey," Willow objected, "be careful of how you use that word 'witch'".

"Sorry," Anya apologized.

"I wonder where the bunny came from." Willow stated.

"I wonder where it went." Anya squeezed Xander's hand harder "It could still be in the shop!" She looked around with an expression of fear.

"It will be okay" Willow told Anya, "Tara and I will find the bunny".

"And kill it?" the former demon asked.

"No, we'll use it to cast a spell to find the girl." Tara chimed in.

"We can do that?" Willow asked, caressing Tara's hand.

Tara nodded to the red head "Sure, we just need to find the rabbit first".

"I'm going to get you, you wascalley wabbit!" Xander exclaimed in his best imitation of Elmer Fudd.

Anya looked admiringly at her boyfriend. "My hero," she sighed.

The group looked around the shop for the rabbit. After some searching and a fair amount of chasing Willow was able to capture it. "Awe!" she exclaimed, cradling the small white bunny in her arms as if it were a baby, "Just look at the sweet little thing. It didn't mean any harm! It just wants to be snuggled!" she cooed as she petted the soft animal and held it close to her. The red-head looked at Tara and gave her puppy eyes "can we keep her?"

Tara melted at the adorable look and the sweet image of the red-head holding the rabbit. She wondered how anyone was able to deny Willow anything. "Of course we keep her! Though I still want to get a kitten".

"Kitty?" Willow pondered at Tara "We should get one of those too!" Willow stated excitedly and walked toward the table with the rabbit.

Tara smiled as she prepared for the spell.

"Get that terrifying long-eared-twitchy-nosed-rat-thing out of my face!" Anya complained to Willow.

"Xander I think it's time you take your girlfriend home for some... rest." Giles suggested.

"Sex?" Anya questioned Xander, "I think Giles is right. I've had a rough day. We should go home and you should comfort me with lots of orgasms."

Giles winced and pulled off his glasses to clean them. Xander and Anya promptly left the shop.

Giles now focused on the two witches. "It occurs to me that even if we are able to find this girl, we do not know her motives, or if she is working with anyone else" he remarked "We ought to do more research on what she or they could do with the items she took before we do a spell to find her".

Willow and Tara looked at each other. Although neither of them were the type of person to do something in hast they both also had other things on their minds such as what they could be doing after this Scooby party. They rolled their eyes in acknowledgment that Giles was right, as usual. Willow found a cage to put the rabbit in until the time was appropriate to complete the spell. Both witches began looking through books for spells and rituals related to the cat goddess.

XXXXX

The girl peeked around the dumpster. The people to whom the voices belonged to didn't appear to be looking for her. They walked through the alley without noticing her. She sighed with relief. Shortly after they passed an orange tabby cat jumped out of the dumpster. "Hi Jasper!" the girl greeted the cat, uncertain if the feline actually understood her or not. The tabby nuzzled her ankle. She petted its somewhat mangy fur. "Did you find any food in there?" she asked it, knowing that the only response she could get was a meow. "No?" she patted the tabby as it lay at her feet. "It's okay. Tonight we'll go out hunting." she smiled at the thought.

XXXXX

Willow was flipping through a book she found on ancient Egyptian rituals and spells. "I'm finding quite a few spells that use an invocation of the goddess Bast." she began, intrigued by the spells listed on the page. "There's one that can give the caster the power of communication and control of cats. This one can turn a person into a were-cat. Ooh, but if it goes wrong a person may be stuck in a cat form or worse a grotesque looking hybrid creature." She showed Tara the picture.

"Ouch, that is kinda ugly," Tara responded, squinting at the picture, "but also sort-of cute, in a way".

"It seems the greater danger is if this caster intends to acquire control of the cats". Giles stated.

"Sounds neat to me," Willow injected. Giles and Tara gave her weird looks. "What? Seems like a fun thing to have" she reasoned.

"It might be fun for someone like me or you to be able to communicate and understand a cat that we had as a pet, for example, but such a power could be horribly abused." Tara explained.

Giles regarded the witches and briefly skimmed the text of the spell they were looking at "Yes, this caster could in theory create an army of cats and have it attack humans."

"Or have the cats hurt themselves." Tara added sadly.

"Oh! Poor kitty!" Willow exclaimed. "I see where you're going with this, and I'm all for saving the world from the army of coerced kittens. But it will have to wait until later this evening, I have to get to class. Professor Smyth hates it when people are late".

Tara nodded, "That's fine, I think the location spell with the rabbit will be more effective in the evening, and this caster would probably have to wait until eight or nine o'clock to do their Bast spell".

"So we meet back here at seven-ish and do the locator spell?" The red-head asked.

"Sounds agreeable. I'll see if Buffy can join you." Giles replied. "And I'll see about getting our new store mascot a carrot," he added referring to the caged rabbit.

The witches left the shop holding hands happily.

XXXXX

The girl observed the sunset while sitting on the edge of the roof top of the Bronze, a couple of alley cats at her side. She was glad to have the cats as company. It seemed as though no one else really noticed her. After all she was just a small street urchin with no home or family. She petted the cats. One was the orange tabby from the dumpster and the other a black cat with a white tummy and feet. She liked seeing the differences in the cats, their coloring, size, and characteristics. It was like they had unique personalities too. Jasper was definitely one of the more friendly ones. He would help her find food sometimes. She smiled at him as she scratched between his ears. He purred back at her.

XXXXX

It was only five o'clock when Willow's evening class ended. She walked towards Tara's dorm happy with the idea of having the blond all to herself for a couple of hours. Then again two hours isn't very long, but there was time for some kissing. She knocked on Tara's door for the second time that day. It wasn't long before the blond opened it. "Hey," Willow smiled.

"Hey," Tara smiled back, "Is it time to go already?"

Willow walked into the room "Nope. I just got out of class. We still have a couple of hours before we need to get back to Scoobyage. So we could just...hang around here for a bit... if you want to". She wrapped her arms around the blond's shoulders and leaned in for a kiss.

Tara gladly provided the kiss that the red-head was clearly asking for and closed the door behind them. The couple stepped toward the bed which conveniently was the only piece of furniture in the dorm room large enough for both of them. "So, is there anything I need to do to prepare for this spell?" Willow asked the more experienced witch as she sat on her bed.

"No, not really, it- it's a pretty s-simple spell".

Willow observed the return of Tara's stutter. She faced the blond to see if everything was alright. It seemed to be. Tara had joined her on the bed. "So it's not going to be one of those spells that leaves me breathless like that one for the Nether Realm?" the shorter girl asked leaning in toward Tara.

Tara closed her eyes as she recalled how the red-head had shuddered and arched on her dorm room floor. God she's beautiful, she thought. Tara returned Willow's gaze, feeling a little breathless herself. "No," Tara whispered as she reached for the Willows cheek "you should be fine".

Willow felt the soft touch and wanted more of it. More sweet soft Tara goodness. She kissed the palm of Tara's hand as it came to her lips. The hand paused. Willow brought her own hand to Tara's and flipped it over to kiss the back of the hand and the knuckles too. She looked into Tara's eyes. Tara seemed entranced. They both lay back on the bed. Willow continued kissing Tara's hand as Tara wrapped her other arm around the red-head and caressed her back. "Mmmm" Willow hummed. Tara wanted to go under Willow's shirt and feel her skin, but felt uncertain if she should or not. Willow moved from kissing the blond's hand to kissing her cheeks and stroking her hair. Tara wrapped both arms around the red-head and pulled their bodies together. Both women reveled in the closeness and smiled at the other. Willow wrapped her arms around Tara as well and nuzzled the area between Tara's neck and shoulder. She enjoyed the tenderness of the area and nibbled at it just a little. It was enough to elicit a short gasp from Tara, who then decided that the idea of more Willow skin was pretty irresistible. She gently placed her hand under the red-head's shirt and continued the caressing of the back. She appreciated the warmth and softness of Willows fair skin. Willow finally kissed Tara's lips. It wasn't long before the kiss intensified. Willow found herself on her back with Tara's leg between hers. The pressure and friction was starting to feel really good. Tara's hand had arrived at Willow's front and it began rubbing the slim tummy and continued up her torso lifting her shirt and showing just a little bit of skin. "Wait." Willow whispered. She swallowed.

Sensing something wasn't right Tara stopped and pulled her hand out. "What is it, Willow?" The blond looked at her with concern. "What's wrong?"

Willow glanced at Tara and melted at the compassion she saw in her eyes. "I don't know... I feel strange... kind of confused, I guess." She started to babble. Tara briefly looked hurt and Willow saw it. "Not about you!" The red-head tried to explain herself, "I want to be with you, I just- I just don't know what I'm doing and I- I think...".

"Are- are we going to fast?" Tara finished for her.

"Maybe?"

The couple rolled back on to their sides facing each other in an embrace. "It's okay," Tara said "I don't want to push you into anything you don't feel ready for."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, of course." Tara affirmed, "Willow, I- I don't want to hurt you".

Willow found this endearing. "I know," she responded, "and you don't hurt. You feel... really good, actually" she stated.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

The couple smiled, pulled in more tightly, and basked in the warmth of their bodies. After a few more minutes of snuggling happily Willow realized it was nearly time to go. The women got out of bed, packed a few ritual items for the spell, and left for the Magic Shop.

XXXXX

When the sun was well below the horizon and the last light of dusk grazed the sky the girl decided it was time to prepare for the ritual. She went to the side of the building where there was a ladder and climbed back down to her back alley. Strange, how she thought of it as hers now. She walked toward the box she had brought up to the roof with her and took all the items out of it. She placed the box upside down and laid a raggedy sweatshirt on top of it. That will have to do for an altar, she thought to herself. She placed her old book in the center of the make-shift table and set the statue next to it. The two cats seemed curious about what she was doing. Jasper even sniffed at some of the ritual items that were still on the ground. "Patience, Jasper", the girl told the cat, "I'll be able to explain this all to you later".

She heard footsteps and looked down the alley way. A figure was coming toward her. She could tell it was female but she couldn't make out the features in the dark. Darn human eye-sight, she thought. She wondered what a cat's sight ability would be like. She abruptly halted preparation for the spell and hid behind the dumpster again. When the person came closer she was finally able to see.

"Mom?" the girl asked incredulously, wanting to believe it could be her. She stepped out from her hiding spot.

The woman looked at her "Sweetie," she crooned, "what are you doing here, I've been looking for you". The woman spoke calmly. Too calmly. She walked toward the girl.

The girl stared at the woman "Mom?" She could feel her eyes welling up. "I- I thought you were dead".

The woman shook her head and looked at the girl kindly. "No, baby, I'm right here" she opened her arms to embrace the girl who by now had tears running down her cheeks.

The girl stepped away. "You were gone for three months!" She cried, "Look at me! Look at how I lived!" she exclaimed furiously, trying to show her dirty clothes, matted brown hair, and skinny arms.

The woman remained serene. "I've come back for you," she stated, "I can take care of you now. We can be together again. Forever". She hugged the angry girl. The girl leaned in wanting to be cared for, wishing to feel the warmth of another human's body. But the body was cool to the touch.

The girl grew skeptical. This was not her mother, the neglectful parent that had hardly ever shown an interest in her. She gently pushed the woman away and looked at her face, "Forever?" she repeated suspiciously.

"Yes, baby, isn't that what you want?" the woman said as her face changed, growing bumps over her eyes and longer teeth. The girl's deep blue eyes widened with fear as she now understood what her mother had become.


	2. Chapter 2

Tara and Willow arrived at the Magic Box shortly after Buffy did. Giles greeted them and assisted with preparing for the spell. The rabbit was still caged, but would need to be freed for the spell. Willow took it out of the cage and held it until Tara was ready.

"Okay, I'm ready." Tara said nodding to Giles and Willow.

Giles lit a green candle. "May this flame light our path." he said simply.

Tara lifted the candle and set it into a bowl of water. It floated on top. She muttered some words that were inaudible to the others. Willow watched as the flame grew and then seemed to soak into the water making it luminous. "Ooh, glowy!" Willow said, in awe of the blond witch. Tara gave her a brief smile in return. Tara held her arm out to cue Willow to give her the rabbit. The red-head did so.

Tara poured some of the 'glowy' water onto the rabbit and chanted "Goddess Artemis, grant this creature, often hunted, the ability to search. Let us find its former holders' perch". The water instantly dried on the fur of the rabbit and gave it light. Tara set the rabbit on the table.

"Cool, glowy bunny" Willow remarked. "Now what?"

"We wait until it finds the 'former holders' perch'" Tara answered.

Willow crossed her arms and stared at the rabbit waiting for it to do something. It sniffed around the table until it was in front of the red-head. It perked its ears and promptly jumped into Willow arms. Willow smiled and laughed.

"Well, I guess that was a bust." Buffy stated.

"No," Tara corrected "I think it's working. Willow is one of its former holders". The witches smiled. "Let's go outside and see if that helps".

As soon as the three women walked out of the shop the illuminated rabbit wriggled itself free of Willow's arms and quickly hopped away.

"I guess this is the part where I follow the bright beacon of bunniness" Buffy said nonchalantly as she started to chase after it. The witches ran too, but could not keep up with the speed of the glow-in-the-dark rabbit or the Slayer.

XXXXX

"No," the girl stated firmly as she ducked away from the vampire who was formerly her neglectful mother. "It was never what I wanted." She whispered as she glared at the demon. The girl tried to run away, but the vampire woman effortlessly grabbed the girl's petite body and threw it against the wall of the alley. The girl fell to the ground and cringed in pain. "Mom! You're hurting me!" she cried, attempting to appeal to whatever little humanity may still exist in the demon.

"I don't care," the vampire responded cruelly. She narrowing her eyes, "Don't you get it, my child, I never cared about you," she snarled as she picked up the now whimpering girl, slammed her against the wall and held her there. "Pathetic, weak, little girl," the woman taunted.

Out of the corner of her eye the girl saw a flash of light at the end of the alley way coming toward them. Then she saw a vampire face lean in toward her own neck. The next second she saw a blond figure holding a wooden stake behind a cloud of dust. She found herself on the cold ground, shaking with fear, and strangely a glowing rabbit on her lap.

"Are you okay?" Buffy asked the girl as she looked her over. She looked as though she hadn't bathed, changed clothes, or had a decent meal in days, maybe weeks, Buffy observed. In addition she looked a little bruised and scratched, probably from the vamp. She is also likely in shock, Buffy thought.

"I- I" the girl stared ahead of her not knowing what to say. She numbly patted the rabbit as its coat dimmed and it ran off.

Buffy sat on the ground next to her. "What are you doing out here?" She tried to ask compassionately, "Where are your parents".

"Well...you... you just, um, met my mother" she answered and glanced at Buffy with a look of awe, confusion, and profound sadness.

"Oh." Buffy did not anticipate that response. "Oh. I'm...sorry?" What the heck do you say in such situations, she wondered.

Two more women came running down the alley way. They stopped at the scene. Huffing and puffing Willow stated "Well, it looks like Buffy caught the culprit".

Tara tried to catch her breath as well as she looked for the missing items. She saw them not far from where they stood by the make-shift alter from a cardboard box. "Yep, there's the stolen property".

"So, what have you got to say for yourself" the red-head addressed the girl, attempting to be lighthearted.

"Hey, be nice guys," Buffy scolded, "I just...dusted her mother.". She was not certain whether to feel pride or shame at the recent slaying.

"What!" the witches exclaimed together. "Her mother is- was a vampire?" Willow asked.

"Yeah".

"Please don't go to the police!" The trembling girl anxiously requested.

"We won't go to the police" Tara calmly affirmed the girl. "It will be okay." The blond witch knelt beside the girl and took her hand, despite observing how dirty it was.

The girl grasped the "nice lady's" hand and sobbed. It had been so long since she had such gentle human contact. Tara faced the girl giving her a look of genuine concern. There was a long period of silence as each woman tried to figure out the right thing to do or say. It didn't seem important any more, but to make herself busy Buffy got up and packed the stolen items into the cardboard box that was the alter. She returned to the group. "Why don't you come with us," Buffy offered the girl.

"W- Where are we going?"

Buffy thought about it. "We'll go to my house," she said kindly. "We can get you cleaned up, and give you some dinner. If you want."

The girl briefly brightened at the idea of getting some decent food and a shower. Tara stood up, and helped pull the girl up as well. "Ouch" the child winced, still holding Tara's hand.

"Are you in pain?" Willow asked as she stepped to the girl's other side.

"Yeah, my mom...I mean...that vampire who was my mom, threw me against the wall." The girl explained awkwardly. "It's okay, it just hurt when I stood, I'll be fine," she added, not used to the attention these women were giving.

"Just remember that it was the demon inside her body who did that to you. I'm certain your mother would never have meant to harm you". Willow tried to be comforting, though she thought it was a little strange how calmly the child spoke about vampires.

"I wouldn't be so sure of that." the girl muttered, and then flushed. She usually didn't disclose so much to strangers, or to anyone. The "nice lady" squeezed her hand. They walked together in silence, the girl continuing to hold hands with Tara, until they reached Buffy's house.

When the group walked in Joyce greeted them all. When she saw the girl she crossed her arms "And who's this?" She asked her daughter, "She looks a little young to be out patrolling with you all, especially at this late hour" she scolded.

"Um, we found a little street urchin". She tried to explain innocently.

"Uh huh... and you thought you would just bring her home and keep her?" Joyce asked.

"No, I just thought..."

Trying to avoid conflict the girl interrupted Buffy's attempt to form a sentence. "Um, I can go," she said nervously "I don't want to be a problem".

"No," Joyce gave in "that's not what I meant, I was just teasing them. Do you want some hot cocoa?" she asked in her usual spirit of hospitality.

The girl smiled and nodded shyly. Buffy looked pleased that her mom now had someone else to fuss over besides her. "Can I- can I get cleaned up first?" She asked. She was very aware of how she must look, and little ashamed about it.

"Of course. I'll show you the bathroom. And maybe I can find some of Buffy's old clothes that might fit you." She offered, seeing that the girl was effectively wearing dirty rags.

Buffy, Willow, and Tara sat in the living room as Joyce took care of the girl. "What are we going to do with her?" Willow sighed.

"Poor girl," Tara said. "It looked like she had been on the streets for some time".

"She may not be as innocent as she looks," Buffy interjected.

"Always the pessimist," Willow remarked.

"Well, she stole those items from the Magic Box, and we still don't know why. She spoke so calmly about vampires. She didn't seem all that dismayed that her mother was one. We never even bothered to ask her name" Buffy pointed out.

"A lot happened tonight, the girl must be in shock" Tara said. "We should give her some time before interrogating her about her intentions."

"Besides, if she's been on the streets of Sunnydale for a while I'm sure this wasn't her first encounter with a vampire" Willow said after she had thought about it.

"I guess." Buffy replied.

After Joyce put together some linens and an outfit of clothes for the girl she came back downstairs. "So that Aven, she seems like a nice enough girl," Joyce stated. "What's her story?" she asked Buffy.

"Aven?"

"Your little street urchin." Joyce raised her eyebrows. "Did you not ask her name?"

"Um...no," Buffy responded frankly.

Joyce let out a laugh and went to the kitchen to begin preparing some hot chocolate for everybody.

It wasn't long before Aven came down the stairs wearing a pair of jeans and a long sleeve purple shirt that used to be Buffy's. The outfit was still a little big for her, and her hair was still extremely tangled, but the transformation was remarkable.

"Wow, Aven," Tara smiled kindly at her, "You look like a whole new girl!"

The child smiled shyly "Thanks" she said.

"Buffy," Joyce called from the kitchen, "Why don't you get a comb to help her with her hair" she suggested. Buffy got up from the couch to get the comb. The girl sat down on the floor by Tara. Willow smiled at her , impressed at how she had won over "the urchin" so easily. Buffy came back with a comb and gave it to Tara, who gracefully and gently began the daunting task of untangling Aven's hair. It wasn't very long, just extremely unkempt. A few moments later Joyce came into the living room and provided everyone with hot chocolate, marshmallows, and cookies. She also ensured that everyone told Aven their names. The girl ate the cookies ravenously, prompting Joyce to make a proper meal for her. The girl copiously vocalized her appreciation for the food.

"It's been so long since I've had a real meal". She stated, then blushed. She didn't want to sound so pitiful.

"How long has it been?" Buffy asked, wanting to get more of the girls back story.

"I don't know" the girl shrugged. "At least 2 months. That's when..." the girl paused reluctant to confide more, even though these strangers had shown much kindness.

"When what?" Buffy prompted.

"I don't really want to talk about it." Aven muttered and stared at the ground in front of her.

"It's okay to tell us" Tara told her as she stroked some of the girl's hair that was untangled "We aren't going to hurt you."

Aven turned to gaze at Tara, "the nice lady". She saw genuine concern in the blond's eyes and decided that she trusted her. "It's just weird... so many people... after living in that alley for so long".

"How long again?" Tara asked, believing she may have better luck then Buffy.

"Two months or so, I think" the girl repeated. "I started living there when I ran away from my uncle's" she started. "He was supposed to take care of me after my mom... died." She shook her head at the memory. "He's a police man," she explained, "But he's not very nice."

"Not nice how?" Willow inquired.

Aven sighed. "He hit me. A lot. I don't even think I really did anything, but that didn't stop him" she said sadly.

Tara recalled the loss of her own mother and the beatings she had received from her brother. She embraced the girl as she empathized. "It's not your fault" she told her softly.

"I know," The girl responded. "That's why I ran away. And it's why I don't want to go to the police. They'll just give me back to him" she reasoned. "You- you won't take me to the police will you?" she asked, her anxiety rising again. She turned to face Tara again.

The blond witch saw the fear in Aven's eyes. "No, dear," Tara affirmed once more, "We won't take you to the police".

"Good". The girl stated definitively, feeling a little better.

"How did you live in that alley for so long?" Willow asked, intrigued by the girls story.

"Well, that club, the Bronze, they would sometimes through away left over scraps of food into the dumpster back there" the girl explained. "And sometimes Jasper would kill a bird or something and give it to me".

"Who's Jasper?" asked Buffy.

"He's an alley cat. A handsome one too. He has this pretty orange fur." Aven recalled her feline companion happily. The women grimaced at the idea of surviving off of scrap food from a club and an alley cat's 'gifts'. Disregarding their disgust, they listened as the girl continued. "I liked the cats. They were independent, brave, playful... this might sound weird, but I wanted to be friends with them. I wanted to be able to communicate with them and understand their thoughts." she paused. "That's why I took the items from the Magic Box. I was going to do try this spell from a book I had". She recognized she had just freely admitted her guilt and felt the need to say more. "I only meant to borrow them, but the mean lady wouldn't let me. She didn't understand. I was going to give them back when I was done with them anyway." She concluded.

"It's okay," Willow said "We'll take the items back to the shop tomorrow, no harm done...except you did give Anya quite the scare. She really is afraid of rabbits".

"Yeah, I figured that's why she fainted." the girl responded, "Kind of a silly thing to be afraid of isn't it," she giggled. "I hope she's okay" she stated more seriously.

"I'm sure she's fine" Buffy stated dryly, not wanting to think about Anya's ideal form of comfort.

It was getting late. Tara managed to finish combing Aven's hair, but not before the girl fell asleep resting her head on her knees while sitting on the floor. Buffy helped lift her to the couch and Willow covered her with a blanket.

"I'm still not sure what to do with her," Willow stated.

"We're going to have to call Child Protective Services," Buffy responded.

"But doesn't that count as police, which we promised not to do?" Willow said out of concern. She didn't want the girl to end up back in that bastard uncle's house.

"Well, whatever we do, it can wait until tomorrow." Buffy declared, exhausted, "It's time to get some sleep". Buffy took the box of stolen items and took it to her room. She decided it would be nice to sleep at home and that she should be there in the morning in case something happens with the girl.

XXXXX

"Well, someone has a new fan" Willow nudged Tara teasingly as they walked back to the college.

"Oh, Aven?" Tara asked, lost in her own thoughts.

"Yes, Aven." Willow confirmed, "didn't you see that adoring look she gave you?"

Tara felt content that she was able to provide a little comfort to the child, "She's a sweet kid".

"You're a sweet woman." Willow responded with a smile. Tara returned the smile and reached for Willow's arm. They continued their walk hand in hand. Willow yawned. "It is getting pretty late," she said, "I guess I should go back to my own dorm and get some sleep".

Tara was reluctant to let the red-head go. "Or, you could come to my dorm again," she offered nervously "We- We don't have to do anything just... snuggles".

"And kisses?" Willow added hopefully.

"And kisses."

"Okay, sounds like a plan then." she agreed. 


	3. Chapter 3

Aven woke with a start. She looked around the living room and remembered how she got there.

"Good morning," Joyce greeted her as she made her way to the kitchen to prepare breakfast.

"Morning, Mrs. Summers," Aven responded groggily.

"Did you sleep well?" the older woman asked.

"Yeah, best sleep I had in a while." Aven stated "Your couch is comfortable. Much better than... a card board box" she added, before feeling embarrassed again.

"Good, I'm glad to hear that" Joyce tried to avoid giving the girl a look of pity and concentrated on making pancakes. "Buffy should be up soon".

"Cool," the child responded casually, "Where's the 'nice lady'...um...Tara?" she asked.

"Willow and Tara probably went back to the college, but maybe they'll stop by soon".

Buffy came down the stairs in her pajamas and looking groggy. Aven smiled at her, slightly amused at the bed-head look. "Hey," Buffy awkwardly greeted the girl

"Hey," she replied "Thanks for... letting me sleep here".

"Yeah, no prob".

"So, where do we go from here?" she asked nervously.

Buffy sat on the couch with her and gently stroked her hair. "I don't know" she responded sullenly.

Joyce coaxed the two into the kitchen for breakfast. They sat at the table as Joyce provided large stacks of syrupy pancakes. The girl gawked at all the food. She wondered, despite how hungry she was, if she would be able to eat all that she was served. She politely cut off bite sized pieces and tried to savor each one, believing it could be a long time before she would be provided so much to eat again. Buffy started scarfing her pancakes, barely giving enough time between mouthfuls to thank her mother. "Mmm, nothing like a good home-cooked breakfast," she said appreciatively. "College food kinda sucks".

"You are welcome to come home more often," Joyce retorted to her daughter and offered second helpings. She was happy to see the two slim girls eating so much. She knew Buffy needed a lot of energy for her Slayer duties, and Aven was so skinny and pale, she looked malnourished.

"Your mom's cool," Aven stated frankly to Buffy as she took another bite. Joyce was touched.

"Yeah, she is, isn't she?" Mother and daughter looked admiringly at each other.

Tara and Willow came through the front door without bothering to knock. Aven heard them come in. She ran toward the blond witch. "Tara!" she exclaimed as she hugged her. Tara gently hugged her back, a little surprised at the greeting. Then, embarrassed at showing her feelings of affection so openly, Aven walked back to her seat at the kitchen table and continued eating.

Willow and Tara looked at each other and giggled softly. "Looks like your number two fan is still here." Willow said to Tara, then whispered seductively "cause I'm number one".

"You're always my number one". Tara responded with her lopsided grin.

Joyce ensured that the newcomers also received a fair share of pancakes. After everyone was full from the heavy breakfast they sat in the living room to try to figure out a plan.

"Well, first we should go to the Magic Box to return the items" Willow suggested "I'm sure Aven would like to be involved in that and apologize to Anya".

"The mean lady?" Aven asked. She slumped her shoulders and looked at the floor, "Yeah, I guess I should say sorry," she resigned.

The group walked to the shop, Buffy carrying the box with stolen items. Anya, Xander, and Giles were already there, wondering about what had occurred after the spell last night. Buffy came into the shop and put the box on the table, "Here are you're missing items, I believe," she stated. The rest of the women joined them at the table.

Anya saw Aven, "That's the girl!" she said excitedly. "Why did you bring her here, shouldn't she go to the police." Aven winced at the word and tried to hide behind Tara.

"Long story. She's had a kinda rough time at it recently," Buffy explained. "We told her we wouldn't take her to the police".

Willow put her hand on the girls back and prompted Aven to step forward. "She has something she wanted to say to you".

The child looked at Anya who glared back intimidatingly. "I- I'm sorry I s- stole from your shop" she started, "and for scaring you with the rabbit too." she added nervously, "I- I didn't know you were so afraid of them," she swallowed, flushed, and looked at the floor.

Xander looked at his girlfriend. "Look Anya, she's just a kid, she didn't mean to hurt anybody".

Anya sighed, "All right, you're forgiven" she told Aven reluctantly.

Giles looked at the recovered items and saw the spell book. "I don't recognize this one" he stated, picking up the book and flipping through it.

"That one is actually mine." Aven reported, "It's where I got the idea to do the spell in the first place".

"Where did you get it from?" Giles inquired.

"Family heirloom," she answered simply.

Giles thought this was interesting, though he supposed the girl could be descended from witches. Anything was possible. The book seemed intriguing too. It involved a lot of rituals and spells from the ancient world. He offered the book back to Aven.

Aven refused to take it. "You can borrow it, if you want to," She told him. "Tara told me I shouldn't do those kinds of spells anyway." She looked admiringly at the blond witch. She had memorized the important spell anyway, she secretly thought to herself.

"Right she is," Giles nodded to the girl, "thank you". He accepted the book.

"So now what?" the girl asked the group, "Shall I return to my alley?"

"No!" Willow exclaimed. She hated the idea of the girl living there. "Don't you think it would be nice to live with a family?"

The girl shrugged, "I don't know." she replied, "It wasn't very nice living with my family".

Willow could agree with that statement, as could Tara. "Well, not all families are like yours" she tried to explain, but was finding it difficult, recalling the neglect and disinterest of her own parents.

"Yeah, I guess that's true." The girl stated, "Buffy's mom is pretty cool".

"Yeah, exactly!" Willow responded. "And, you know, there might be some pretty cool parents out there who could adopt you".

"You think so?"

"I know so," Willow affirmed and patted her on the shoulder.

Buffy volunteered to call Child Protective Services. Tara and Aven waited for their arrival. Willow looked over some of the items in the shop. She thought it would be nice to give the kid something to remember them all by, but nothing to dangerous. She came across a small cat shaped pendant with a nice long chain. The silver cat sort of resembled the statue of the goddess Bast. It didn't appear to have any obvious magical properties. It seemed like something the child would appreciate, since she likes cats so much. Willow purchased the cat pendant and gave it to Aven. Tara nodded approvingly at her. Aven thanked her profusely stating it was the best gift she had ever received.

XXXXX

Hours later Aven was alone in the back of a van taking her to a temporary foster home. She was anxious. She didn't really like the sound of foster care; getting switched from home to home until maybe someone likes you enough to adopt you. Which they can only do if they manage to fumble through the crazy bureaucratic system. She also feared that if her uncle figured out where she was he could find her and take her away. She had told the social worker about him hitting her, but wasn't convinced they could keep him away from her if he found out. She sighed. She wished Tara was with her. Or Jasper. She hoped this foster family would have a cat.

She arrived at the foster home in time to have dinner with the family. It didn't take long for her to discover that this was not a good place for her. There were three other kids there. Two of them were boys, the other was a girl. They were all older than her. The boys fought a lot and liked to tease the girl. She could foresee that it would not be long until they picked on her too. The girl foster child seemed more interested in herself than anyone else. Aven remained fairly quiet throughout the evening, only speaking when necessary.

At bed time Aven couldn't sleep. She lay wide awake in bed thinking about what could go wrong in foster care, and what if her uncle found her. She decided she wouldn't allow her fears to consume her. She had to get out of there. She had to take control of her own life again, like she did when she was on the streets.

Aven waited until the other girl fell asleep. She slipped the chain with the cat pendent off of her neck and admired it. She noticed that it did have a little Eye of Horus on its neck as an attempt to make it Bast like. She wondered if the resemblance was enough for the spell. She held the pendant in her hand as she quietly got out of the bed and crept into the kitchen to fill a bowl with water to imitate a chalice. She looked for a candle. She found some sage in the kitchen among some other herbs and spices. She was able to get a tea-light candle that was in one of the bathrooms. She sneaked out of the house with the items hoping that her absence would not be noticed.

Aven found a place in the yard and set the items on the ground. She set the Bast pendant into the water with the sage. She knelt on the ground by her makeshift chalice. "Goddess Bast, mother of cats, to thee I make this request" Aven began chanting. "Form me into and honored guest. Invite me into your house of felines, allow me speak to your kin".

She put the chain with the Bast pendant over her neck again. As soon as she did so she saw the metal figure melt into the skin on her chest. Strangely it didn't hurt. She felt a warmth and a tingling on her skin. She watched as she grew fur. Suddenly the world seemed a lot bigger. Frightened she ran off. She observed she was using her arms in addition to her legs to run. She saw that her hand was now a paw and realized she had been turned into a kitten. Not entirely upset about this spell-gone-wrong, she went to the streets and headed toward the back alley to search for her friend Jasper.

XXXXX

Tara and Willow were sitting on Tara's bed in her dorm room. Willow liked Tara's room. There was something comfortable yet sexy about the lights across the walls and the classic feminine décor. It fit Tara really well.

"I'm kind of sad that the glowy bunny disappeared". Willow stated.

"Awe," Tara stroked Willow's hair, "It's okay, we'll still get a kitty".

"Yeah?"

"Yeah," the blond witch affirmed "We can go to the pound tomorrow and adopt one, if you want to."

"You want me to go with you?" Willow asked eagerly.

"Of course I want you to come with me" Tara answered "We need to make sure that the kitty likes you too or else my room might not be so Willow-friendly anymore".

"Good point".

The two sat in silence for few minutes, lost in their own thoughts. Tara thought about Aven. The girl was attached to her, trusted her, and she had just sent her away to a problematic bureaucracy that will sent her to an unpredictable home. Tara felt guilty about not being able to follow through with her. She considered the similarities in their family lives; losing a mother, abusive relatives. Tara never ran away though, or told anybody about the abuse- not even Willow yet. She looked at the red-headed witch and wondered what Willow would think if she knew about her family; what would happen if Willow discovered that her family believes she's a demon. She grazed Willow's cheek with the back of her hand then wrapped her arms around her, no longer willing to think about her fears of losing her.

"Mmm... you're all snugly," Willow whispered as she tried to push her body even more toward Tara's. They smiled at each other as they closed their eyes and fell asleep.

XXXXX

Aven, now a small dark haired kitten, continued running down the street until she stopped to try and figure out where she was. She looked at the street signs. It was strange. She could see the letters but in her mind she couldn't connect them into words. She couldn't read. A man picked her up. "What have we got here?" He petted her, "A lost little kitten, poor thing," he cooed.

She struggled to get out of his hands. "Jasper!" she tried to yell, but she could only hear herself meowing and hissing". Beginning to panic she bit the man.

"Ouch!" he reacted, but still grasped her tiny furry body tightly. "Poor lost little feral kitten". He said. "I must be giving you quite the fright" he told her. "It's okay though, I'm going to take you to the pound".

XXXXX

The next day in the afternoon Willow and Tara went to the pound. Tara was very excited about the prospect of getting a kitten. She was never allowed to have a pet when she was a kid. Willow was excited too, even though she was more of a dog person. The only pet she had was Amy the rat, who wasn't so much a pet as a witch who had done a spell on herself that they couldn't figure out how to reverse. Willow simply felt an obligation to take care of her until she was human again, if that were to ever happen.

When they arrived at the animal shelter, they were led to a room in which they could interact with various kittens and see which one they bonded with. There was a cat mother who recently had a litter of 5. They played with each of them. Most of them ran away too quickly. One of them tried to bite and scratch them.

"I don't know" Willow said, "Their all fun in the playful, cute kitteny kinda way,"

"Yeah," Tara responded, "I'm not really feeling that special connection though". She said, a little disappointed.

"We have one more", a staff member told them. "She just came in last night, so she hasn't had all her shots yet. You would have to make an appointment for her if you choose her". The staff set the kitten down on the floor. She was mostly black with some white and gray speckles, most notably on the right side of her mouth. The two witches thought the unique markings were cute. The kitten ran up to Tara immediately. Tara picked her up and petted her. She smiled.

"Looks like this one likes you." Willow said as Tara handed the kitten to Willow to play with.

"Yeah, this is definitely the one." Tara replied.

They managed to stealthily get the kitten into Tara's dorm. "What are you going to name her? Willow asked.

"We'll have to wait until she tells us her name," Tara stated, "For now we'll just call her Ms. Kitty Fantastico!"

Willow laughed, "Ms. Kitty Fantastico it is then," she agreed as they smiled at each other. "She looks kind of skinny".

"Not a problem, we'll fatten her up like a good American house-cat in no time," Tara smiled.

XXXXX

Aven had a pretty rough night at the pound. It was difficult to sleep with all the dogs barking, and people kept poking and prodding at her. She guessed they were trying to assess if she was healthy. Aven thought she was pretty lucky though. It just happened that Tara and Willow had adopted her from the Animal Shelter. Willow was right, there were some pretty cool "parents" out there who could adopt me, she thought to herself. Even as a tiny kitten she felt safe in Tara's hands. All she needed to do was get used to responding to that silly name.


	4. Chapter 4

AN: This chapter is supposed to take place in season 5 sometime after Dawn's arrival, probably shortly after the episode "The Family".

Aven found herself enjoying the simple things in life as a kitten. She liked batting around the silly catnip toys Willow gave her, and getting scratched behind the ears. She even enjoyed the occasional nap on Tara's lap, though she was fairly certain Willow would get jealous even though she was just a cat. She was pretty sure that at one point she heard Willow complain half-jokingly that Ms. Kitty Fantastico was in her spot. Tara had giggled in response. All in all life as a kitten with a couple of witches wasn't so bad. There was no wondering when her next meal would be, and sleeping in a card-board box was somehow more enjoyable. The best part was that she felt she was part of the love shared by Willow and Tara. She wondered what their response would be if they knew the truth about her; that she was really the human child they had once referred to as a street urchin. They probably wouldn't be able to keep her. It's totally different taking care of a human child rather than a kitten.

"I wonder what that kitty thinks about," Willow stated, as she lay with her head in Tara's lap. "Doesn't she look like she's day dreaming sometimes?"

Aven perked her ears, knowing they were talking about her. Tara regarded the kitten while running her fingers through Willow's hair. "You probably don't want to know. I bet it involves dead animals," she responded frankly.

"Gross!" Willow turned upward and made a face, but Tara thought it was cute and kissed her. Aven purred in approval of the display of affection.

There was a firm knock at the door. Aven scurried under the bed. "Who comes here besides me?" Willow questioned Tara. Tara shrugged.

"Police!"

"Police?" Willow silently mouthed while displaying a look of confusion to the blond as she got up to answer the door.

"Is- Is there something wrong, o-officer?" Tara nervously asked the officer.

"I'm officer Davidson and I just had some questions for you," he stated assertively.

"Oh. W- Would you like to come in?"

"Sure," he stepped in as Tara closed the door behind him. He pulled out a picture. "Do you know this girl?" he asked abruptly.

Tara and Willow looked at the picture and immediately recognized the face; deep blue eyes, short brown hair. It was clearly Aven, though she looked healthier and maybe younger in the picture than she did when they had seen her.

"Yes, that's Aven." Willow replied.

"Yes, Aven Glen is her name". The officer stated. "I heard that she recently stole some items from a shop that you visit frequently."

"Yes, that's right...um...about a week or two ago," Tara confirmed.

"And you did not report this to the police?" He inquired in an adverse tone.

"Well, we- we weren't at the shop at- at the time it was robbed." Tara corrected.

"Yes, we just found her later in an alley by The Bronze and noticed that the missing items were near by." Willow elaborated. She wasn't happy with the tone this police officer was using.

"Oh, you just... found her?" He restated sceptically.

Tara and Willow were not about to tell him about their spell. "Yeah, you know, heading to the club for a night out dancing and such...saw a girl in the alley...took a look to make sure she wasn't lost..." Willow tried to lie. It sounded plausible...maybe, she thought to herself.

Tara gave her an approving nod. "Yeah, we just wanted to make sure she was okay, and then we saw the box, and how unkempt she was".

"We called CPS the next day after she returned the stolen items" Willow added.

"Yeah, lot of good that did." the officer muttered under his breath sarcastically.

Tara narrowed her eyes in confusion. "Um, are we being accused of something here?" She asked, getting more assertive.

As though realizing he made a mistake his demeanor changed entirely. "No, not at all." he smiled charmingly. "Have you seen Aven Glen since she was turned over to CPS." He asked nicely.

"No," Tara answered, "I thought she was going into foster care."

"Yes, she was placed with a foster family," the officer asserted, "But her foster parents reported her missing a few days ago."

"What?" Willow responded, concerned for the child.

"Oh no." Tara stated simultaneously.

"We thought she may have returned to the shop or tried to get in contact with the people she had recently met there".

"Well, we haven't seen her," Willow stated sadly.

"If you do please let me know". He provided them with business cards.

"We definitely will." Willow told him.

Tara sat in silence. When Officer Davidson left Willow put her arm around the blond. "I'm sure she's okay," She tried to comfort her. "She's pretty independent".

Tara melted into the embrace. "Yeah, I was just hoping she'd be placed with a nice family and live happily ever after, you know?"

"Yeah, I know." Willow affirmed as she noticed Ms. Kitty Fantastico sneak out from under the bed. She swooped the small kitten in to her hands. "Awe, were you hiding?" Willow asked the kitten as she played with her. "Did the big mean police officer scare you?" She cuddled the cat. "It's okay now, he's gone".

Aven felt comforted by Willow's words even though the red-head had no idea how true they were.

XXXXX

Later on in the day Willow and Tara went to the Magic Box to meet up with the "Scooby Gang". They decided to bring Ms. Kitty Fantastico with them to show off their kitten. As they entered they saw a couple of police officers at the shop as well. They were interviewing Anya, Buffy, and Giles.

"Were they involved with the child as well?" The shorter dark skinned female cop asked.

"Yes, they were the two that found her with Buffy," Giles answered politely.

"Then we have a few questions for you as well." The taller fair skinned male cop stated.

Willow and Tara sat at the table. "Okay, but Officer Davidson already interrogated us," Willow stated.

"Officer Davidson?" the woman officer asked, "He shouldn't be working this case." She looked at her partner.

"Clearly he's very concerned for his niece," the male officer responded, speaking softly to the female hoping that no one else would hear. "We'll have to see if he got any leads and then remind him to let us do our job."

The female nodded in agreement. It wasn't long before they decided that the group in the shop didn't have any useful information for them. They left also providing business cards in case the gang did see the girl.

"This is rather disconcerting," Giles commented as he took a sip of tea.

"We thought so too." Willow stated. "We were thinking of returning to that alley to see if she went back there later this evening. The police probably have been keeping an eye there, but..."

"Yeah, we all know how stupid Sunnydale cops can be." Buffy finished.

"So you want to come with us?" Willow asked the Slayer.

"Sure, we can do it during patrol."

"I can kitty-sit!" Dawn volunteered nearly beaming.

Tara smiled, glad to see the teen. "Where did you come from?" she asked as she placed the kitten into Dawns eager hands.

"I was in the back practicing with the cross-bow," she whispered to Tara, in hopes that Buffy wouldn't here. "Awe! She's so cute!" She cooed at the kitten. "Are you ever going to give her a real name?"

"Hey!" Willow teased, "What's wrong with Ms. Kitty Fantastico?"

"Um...nothing?" Dawn said, giving a goofy grin.

XXXXX

Aven happily pawed at the piece of string Dawn was dangling in-front of her. Dawn giggled at the kitten's playful antics. They were in the living room of the Summers' house. Aven felt guilty for putting the women through so much trouble. They were after all trying to find her while she had been in front of them the entire time. She wished there was a way to communicate with them, but at the same time feared that they would inform the police of her location if she were to be able to. She couldn't let that happen. She couldn't let her uncle find her.

Joyce came into the living room with a cup of hot cocoa for her daughter. "What's this doing out?" the mother asked looking at a cross-bow on the coffee table. "You shouldn't be playing with Buffy's...toys," She scolded Dawn.

"I wanted to train with it later," the teen whined, "You know, after I do homework".

Joyce looked skeptically at the scene of her daughter playing with a kitten. "You don't look like your doing homework," she stated.

"Yeah, I'm waiting for Chris," Dawn responded, "We were going to study together for the algebra exam."

"Oh, Chris?"

"Chris Burman." Dawn answered as though it should be obvious. "Cute guy. Math genius. I talk about him, like, all the time!" she stated irritably. "Or at least for the past week I have," she added awkwardly.

"Right. Chris Burman." Joyce nodded pretending she knew who her daughter's current silly junior high crush was.  
>"Is he coming soon? I can make more hot cocoa for him," she offered.<p>

"No, that's okay, I'd really rather you be..."

"Otherwise engaged so that I don't embarrass you?"

"Um...yeah."

"Okay." Joyce agreed "I trust you, just... don't do anything Buffy wouldn't do." she stated. Then she recalled that Buffy had apparently been doing all sorts of wacky stuff behind her back when she was in high school. Kissing vampires for example. "You know what, forget I said that," Joyce changed her mind as she got up, "Don't do anything Willow wouldn't do. I'll be upstairs, call if you need anything."

"Okay," Dawn laughed, "Thanks Mom".

There was a knock on the door. Dawn eagerly answered it. "Hey Chris," she stated.

"Hey," answered an attractive boy in a letter-man jacket. "Shall I come in?"

"Yeah, come in." She smiled at him.

The two teens went to the couch in the living room. Aven sniffed the newcomer. She didn't like his scent. She perched herself on the coffee table. "Hey, cute kitten," the boy stated. He reached to pet her. She hissed at him.

"Be nice, Ms. Kitty Fantastico," Dawn scolded.

"Ms. Kitty Fantastico?" Chris asked, indicating he thought the name was strange.

"Yeah, she's my friends' kitten. They like silly names." Dawn explained, trying to sound cool. "I'm just pet-sitting."

Chris nodded in understanding.

They opened their text books in an attempt to appear to be working. The kitten continued to keep vigilance. "I don't understand problem number twenty eight." Dawn started. "How are we supposed to find x?"

Chris leaned over her shoulder to try to look at her work on the problem. "It looks like you're doing fine." He stated "You just wrote five where there's really a three in the problem". He reached over to point at the mistake. Dawn felt his hand graze her's as he did so. It left her a little breathless.

"Oh," she giggled. "Yeah, now It makes a lot more sense." she realized out loud. She secretly hoped for more contact; like a kiss. Yeah, a kiss would be nice, she thought. "Math is so boring," Dawn stated, dramatically rolling her eyebrows and sighing.

Chris regarded her. "We could do something more exciting," he responded, "Like...history".

Dawn giggled again.

"No history then?" He stretched his arms showing off his lengthy body. "Hmm, what else is there to do." and as he let his arms back down one of them ended up around Dawn's shoulder. Dawn gazed at him innocently, then shyly looked away. She could feel her heartbeat racing.

The boy reached for her cheek with his other hand, turned her face toward him, and leaned in. She closed her eyes. Her lips met his with a brief something she thought was a spark.

Aven saw the kiss and felt nauseated. She also saw when the boy's face changed. The kitten pounced onto his shoulder and bit his ear lobe as viciously as she could. He yelled and stood up from the sofa and tried to shake the angry kitten off of him. Aven scratched and clawed to hang on, still biting his ear.

Dawn opened her eyes startled by the initial yell. She saw his face and screamed. She jumped up from the sofa as well. She nervously grabbed the cross-bow, which luckily was still on the coffee table. She backed away from the furious vampire. She aimed, but felt nervous. She didn't have much practice with the weapon. She shot once. No dust. She shot again. Still no dust. She tried to concentrate to shoot one more time. Dust! She sighed with relief.

Joyce came running down the stairs. "What happened?" She asked, a little panicked. She had heard some yelling and crashing noises and was concerned for her daughter. She was able to calm herself a little when she saw the teen in one piece.

"Chrr-is, Chris...he ...was a vampire," Dawn explained still a little in shock. She ran up and hugged her mother seeking comfort before exclaiming pitifully "Why do boys suck?"

"Awe," Joyce wrapped her arms around her daughter and rubbed her back to be more consoling, "I'm sure Willow and Tara would be happy to discuss that further with you." the mother stated, trying to lighten the mood. They heard some distressed mewing and looked around the other side of the coffee table. They saw the dark kitten bleeding on the floor, an arrow stuck in one of her hind legs.

"Oh, no," Joyce said heartbroken for the wounded young animal. She picked up Ms. Kitty Fantastico and cradled the kitten in her hands.

"Oh God! Willow and Tara are going to kill me!" Dawn started freaking out.

"Dawn, don't panic," Joyce stated calmly. "I need you to go get some bandages".

Joyce attempted to bandage the wound as best she could, working around the lodged arrow. The small kitten had fainted, probably due to pain or blood loss. Either way she needed veterinary assistance promptly. She handed Ms. Kitty Fantastico to Dawn who cradled her gently.

"Let's go to the car," Joyce guided her crying daughter. They headed towards the nearest vet.


	5. Chapter 5

AN: Whoo! Chapter 5! Sorry it's short, but I felt I should answer a reviewer's question. Very motivating those reveiws... I will have more to the story, though I'm kinda into Temp. Bliss right now. Enjoy the read!

Willow, Tara, and Buffy had looked in the alley and other places around The Bronze but all they saw was a few stray cats. They returned to the Summers' house so that the witches could pick up the kitten. Buffy immediately noticed blood on the floor and that no one was home. Before she started panicing Tara was able to a note that Joyce had left for them about the kitten getting hurt and going to the veterinary hospital. They joined Joyce and Dawn there.

As they entered Dawn ran up to the two witches, still sobbing, and profusely apologized. Tara reached for her hand and squeezed it gently. "It's okay" she told her, "it's not your fault". Willow kept her arms around Tara trying to be comforting.

"How did this happen?" Buffy asked her sister.

"I- I had Chris over, you know, to study." Dawn started to explain.

"Chris?" Buffy inquired.

"Chris Burman. Duh... doesn't anyone pay attention when I talk about boys?" The teen whined.

Buffy looked away. "Um..." She didn't want to admit to not paying attention.

Dawn sighed and rolled her eyes. "Ugh... anyway. You know," she stated recalling the incident, "It seemed like Ms. Kitty didn't like him in the first place. I wonder if she has vamp radar." She pondered out loud.

"He was a vampire?" Willow asked, concerned.

"You invited a vampire into our home?" Buffy exclaimed. The slayer was annoyed.

"I didn't know!" Dawn responded, frustrated.

"Buffy, now, not a good time". Willow reminded her friend.

"Right, so what happened," Buffy asked, trying to avoid being irritated with her silly little sister.

"Well, he was going to kiss me. He did the whole stretch and yawn thing".

"Stretch and yawn?" Tara asked.

"Typical teenage boy move," Willow interpreted. "It goes something like this". She yawned and stretched her arms over her head before letting one fall over Tara's shoulders.

"Oh...the...stretch and yawn". Tara gazed at Willow, appreciating the demonstration. "And then what?"

"Well, your options are pretty open," Willow explained. "One could lean in for a kiss," she did so, "Or go for some groping." Willow briefly smiled at the thought before turning to Dawn who was watching their interaction with interest. "He didn't do that, did he?"

"No," the teen shook her head, "He was the lean in for the kiss type."

"Oh...good...I guess".

"So you kissed a vampire?" Joyce joined in, "What did I tell you about following in Buffy's footsteps?"

Both sisters rolled their eyes. "Mom!" they complained simultaneously.

"Well that's when Ms. Kitty Fantastico attacked him." Dawn stated. "It looked like he was about to bite me. He had that vamp face thing. You know, fangs and everything. But I wouldn't have noticed 'cause...my eyes were, um, closed at the time. But Ms. Kitty got him to yell which is when I noticed."

"Darn sneaky vampires." Buffy muttered.

"Kitty attacked him? Brave Kitty" Willow stated proudly. She was impressed with the kittens actions. Tara nodded in agreement.

"And then I 'dusted' him". Dawn finished, satisfied with the retelling of the story.

"Really?" Willow asked excitedly. Dawn nodded with a brief smile.

"How did you do that?" Buffy inquired sceptically.

"Well, I used your cross-bow," she answered looking at the ground with shame. Buffy gave her a look of irritation. "I...um... had it out because I, like, wanted to train with it... after studying. It took me three shots to get the vamp and one of the arrows went through Ms. Kitty's leg." she said sadly.

"Poor Kitty," Willow stated.

"So... your first vamp," Buffy said non-chalantly, "How does it feel?"

Dawn shrugged. She felt guilty. "I just wish Ms. Kitty Fantastico didn't get hurt".

"I- I'm just g- glad your okay" Tara stuttered. She was clearly concerned for her kitten as well.

The veterinary doctor came out to give a report. He stated that they had successfully removed the arrow and stitched the wounds. There was a fair amount of blood loss, so they wanted to keep the kitten over night for observation. Tara and Willow went into the room to see her.

"Awe... she looks so little and pitiful all bandaged up like that," Willow observed, "Poor kitty". The witches petted the head of the still sleeping kitten and then embraced each other. "It looks like she'll be okay," Willow said to Tara.

"Yeah," Tara confirmed with a soft smile. Resigned that there was not much else they could do for their brave little kitten they left the Veterinary Hospital agreeing to return for the pet in the morning.


End file.
